Mabton squares 'B' league record

KITTITAS - Mabton quarterback Ryan Harris turned in one of his better efforts of the season last Friday, helping lead the Vikings to a 20-6 victory over the Kittitas Coyotes.

The victory squared the Vikes' Central Washington 'B' League record at 2-2.

Manson (2-1, 3-2) is next up for the Vikes, who will host their fourth home game of the season this coming Friday. Game time in Mabton is slated for 7 p.m.

Mabton Coach D.J. Search said Manson runs a true wing-T offense.

"They have offensive linemen running all over the place," said Search. "It will be a test for us."

If Mabton's defensive unit plays as well as it did in Kittitas last Friday, the Vikes will be in good shape against Manson later this week.

"Yeah, our defense played well," Search said. "Except for the one touchdown they scored against us, when Kittitas ran a trap play and we didn't recognize it, we did very well on defense."

Search also complimented the play of his defensive line, citing the excellent job it did in containing the Kittitas quarterback.

Offensively against the Coyotes, Harris complemented Mabton's strong rushing attack. With six different players gaining a total of 199 yards on the ground, Harris prevented the Coyotes' secondary from providing much run-support as he connected on 11-of-16 passes. Harris totaled 87 yards through the air without serving up any interceptions, which included tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that snapped a 6-6 tie. He also ran in the first TD of the game on a three-yard quarterback option.

Harris' primary targets were Alex Zavala and Pablo Sanchez, each of whom caught four passes for a total of 39 yards. Moises Gutierrez had two receptions for 29 yards, and Ray Elizondo snared one pass, good for a 12-yard gain.

Mabton's bread-and-butter at Kittitas, though, once again proved to be its rushing attack. Sanchez and Elizondo were the workhorses, as Sanchez tallied 82 yards on 15 carries and Elizondo gained 66 yards on 14 touches. Also picking up yardage on the ground for the Vikes were Zavala, nine carries for 24 yards; Eli Perez, two totes for seven yards; Jovanni Ochoa, six yards on three carries; and Harris, who scrambled three times for a total of 14 yards.

Mabton opened the scoring at Kittitas on its first possession of the game. Putting together a good balance of running and passing plays, the Vikes drove the field and capped off the march with a three-yard scamper by Harris. The failed extra point attempt left Mabton with a 6-0 lead.

The Coyotes answered back later in the opening period, when Louie Burketta found an opening and burst 16 yards to pay dirt. Kittitas attempted a two-point conversion, but Mabton's 'D' kept the Coyotes out of the end zone to preserve the 6-6 tie.

In the second period, Harris hooked up with Zavala on a 3-yard TD pass to give Mabton the lead for good. The Vikes put an insurance score on the board in the third period, on a 2-yard touchdown run by Elizondo. Marco Zepeda was successful in booting the extra point kicks through the goal posts on Mabton's last two touchdowns.